I have a question…I thought my daughter (5) was all caught up on her shots last year when she went to preschool. Now at her physical they say she is behind on four vaccines!!! I KNOW we got them updated last year, and the doctor’s office dropped the ball and failed to chart it…so now, if she has to have those 4 repeated, will it hurt her in any way?

Oh that’s a bummer! I can imagine how frustrating this for you—not to mention your daughter! As parents, we trust our children’s doctors to keep accurate records of both healthy and sick visits. Unfortunately, sometimes a parent’s recollection of events doesn’t match up to what’s written in the chart. Sometimes the misstep is on the part of the doctor or office staff, and sometimes on the part of the parent. This time it sounds like you very well may be right. And it reminds me of when I took my daughters to the pediatrician for their immunizations.

My kids are 3 months apart in age. (I know, I know, the math doesn’t add up. We can get into it later but trust me here.) This meant we were always one set of shots apart for the first year and a half. Like a brave Mommy, I held one of the girls in my lap while our pediatrician delivered the goods. After I was done consoling her, I set her down and picked up the other one. The doctor looked at me in surprise and said, “What are you doing? She doesn’t get shots this visit.” I just stared at him and said, “Um, yes, yes, she does. This one is Zoe.” Read more…

Some of the key points they highlighted regarding adult vaccination rates were as follows:

Current data shows that although there have been modest gains in coverage of the Tdap and HPV vaccines in adults, far too few adults are being vaccinated against important diseases, leaving themselves and those around them at greater risk for vaccine-preventable diseases. Pneumococcal disease and pertussis are two examples of cases where too many Americans do not get the preventative care they need when it comes to vaccines. Read more…

There is no doubt in my mind that the safety of vaccines will always be in question. It’s a good thing actually. Since vaccines are administered to almost every child born in the United States, vaccine safety should be rigorously tested and held to a higher standard than any other medical treatments on the market. And they are.

• In 1990, the CDC and the FDA established the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which gathers information about any side effects patients have experienced. Since VAERS accepts any reported information without determining a cause and effect relationship, this information is investigated further and used to identify possible safety concerns.

• Finally, all vaccines are subjected to concomitant studies before they are approved for use. This means that all new vaccines must be tested in conjunction with existing ones to ensure there are no negative interactions. Regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are careful to look for any side effects associated with concomitant use before approving a new vaccine.

To do this, the IOM analyzed all the current research literature on this topic, reviewed the studies and verified enormous amounts of data. After which they reached an undeniable conclusion. The recommended schedule is safe. Read more…

As we engage with other parents, it’s important that we not assume that those who use an alternative schedule are opposed to immunizations. In this particular survey, an alternative vaccinator was a parent who failed to follow the exact recommendations of the CDC, regardless of their reasoning. This survey may have even encompassed parents who skipped or delayed a vaccine because of vaccine shortages, illness or missed appointments or, more likely, parents who consciously chose to delay or decline one or more vaccines.

While it is true that 13% of the survey respondents reported following an alternative vaccination schedule, it was also noted that only 2% reported refusing all vaccines for their young children. That leaves the remaining 11% who have obviously deviated from the schedule, but are still vaccinating their children to some extent.

Interestingly enough, I get to hear from parents almost daily, through my work on this blog and in reading comments on our Vaccinate Your Baby Facebook page. What I have found is that many of the parents who admit to declining, or delaying, one or more vaccines, share many of the same concerns.

“We give too many vaccines in one visit.”

“We give too many vaccines when the child is still so young.”

“I don’t feel this disease poses a serious risk to my child.”

“I am not convinced that this particular vaccine is safe or effective.” Read more…